Privacy Policy
Respecting your privacy
We respect your personal information, and this Privacy
Policy explains how we handle it. The policy covers
AFS Mortgages Pty Ltd.
This Policy also includes our credit reporting policy,
that is, it covers additional information on how we
manage your personal information collected in connection
with a credit application, or a credit facility. We
refer to this credit-related information below as credit
information.
If you are in a country that is a member of the European
Economic Area (EEA), the EU General Data Protection
Regulation 2016/679 (‘GDPR’) governs the
way we collect, use, hold, process and disclose your
personal information. Under the GDPR, we are a data
controller. We make decisions on how and why your personal
information is processed.
What personal information do we collect and hold?
General information
The types of information that we collect and hold about
you could include:
• ID information such as your name, postal or
email address, telephone numbers, and date of birth;
• other contact details such as social media handles;
• financial details such as your tax file number;
and
• other information we think is necessary.
When the law authorises or requires us to collect information
We may collect information about you because we are
required or authorised by law to collect it. There are
laws which require us to collect personal information.
For example, we require personal information to verify
your identity under Australian Anti-Money Laundering
law.
What do we collect via your website activity?
If you’re an internet customer of ours, we monitor
your use of internet services to ensure we can verify
you and can receive information from us, and to identify
ways we can improve our services for you.
If you start but don’t submit an on-line application,
we can contact you using any of the contact details
you’ve supplied to offer help completing it. The
information in applications will be kept temporarily
then destroyed if the application is not completed.
We also know that some customers like to engage with
us through social media channels. We may collect information
about you when you interact with us through these channels.
However, for all confidential matters, we’ll ensure
we interact with you via a secure forum.
To improve our services and products, we sometimes
collect de-identified information from web users. That
information could include IP addresses or geographical
information to ensure your use of our web applications
is secure.
How do we collect your personal information?
How we collect and hold your information
Unless it’s unreasonable or impracticable, we
will try to collect personal information directly from
you (referred to as ‘solicited information’).
For this reason, it’s important that you help
us to do this and keep your contact details up-to-date.
There are a number of ways in which we may seek information
from you. We might collect your information when you
fill out a form with us, when you’ve given us
a call or used our website. We also find using electronic
means, such as email or SMS, a convenient way to communicate
with you and to verify your details .
How we collect your information from other sources
Sometimes, we will collect information about you from
other sources as the Privacy Act 1988 permits. We will
do this only if it’s reasonably necessary to do
so, for example, where:
• we collect information from third parties about
the loan or lease made available to you arising out
of the services we provide you;
• we can’t get hold of you and we rely on
public information (for example, from public registers
or social media) or made available by third parties)
to update your contact details; or
• we exchange information with your legal or financial
advisers or other representatives.
What if you don’t want to provide us with your
personal information?
If you don’t provide your information to us, it
may not be possible:
• for us to give you the credit assistance you
seek from us;
• to assist in finding a loan or lease relevant
to your circumstances;
• verify your identity or protect against fraud;
or
• to let you know about other products or services
that might be suitable for your financial needs.
How we collect and hold your credit information
We will collect your credit information in the course
of you answering the enquiries we make of you relating
to the credit assistance you seek from us. In addition
to what we say above about collecting information from
other sources, other main sources for collecting credit
information are:
• your co-loan applicants or co-borrowers;
• your guarantors/proposed guarantors;
• your employer, accountant, real estate agent
or other referees;
• your agents and other representatives like the
person who referred your business to us, your solicitors,
conveyancers and settlement agents;
• organisations that help us to process credit
applications;
• organisations that check the security you are
offering such as valuers;
• bodies that issue identification documents to
help us check your identity; and
• our service providers involved in helping us
to process any application you make for credit through
us.
What do we do when we get information we didn’t
ask for?
Sometimes, people share information with us we haven’t
sought out (referred to as ‘unsolicited information’).
Where we receive unsolicited personal information about
you, we will check whether that information is reasonably
necessary for our functions or activities. If it is,
we’ll handle this information the same way we
do with other information we seek from you. If not,
we’ll ensure we do the right thing and destroy
or de-identify it.
When will we notify you that we have received your
information?
When we receive personal information from you directly,
we’ll take reasonable steps to notify you how
and why we collected your information, who we may disclose
it to and outline how you can access it, seek correction
of it or make a complaint.
Sometimes we collect your personal information from
third parties. You may not be aware that we have done
so. If we collect information that can be used to identify
you, we will take reasonable steps to notify you of
that collection.
How do we take care of your personal information?
We store information in different ways, including in
paper and electronic form. The security of your personal
information is important to us and we take reasonable
steps to protect it from misuse, interference and loss,
and from unauthorised access, modification or disclosure.
Some of the ways we do this are:
• document storage security policies;
• security measures for access to our systems;
and
• only giving access to personal information to
a person who is verified to be able to receive that
information
We may store personal information physically or electronically
with third party data storage providers. Where we do
this, we use contractual arrangements to ensure those
providers take appropriate measures to protect that
information and restrict the uses to which they can
put that information.
What happens when we no longer need your information?
We’ll only keep your information for as long as
we require it for our purposes. We may be required to
keep some of your information for certain periods of
time under law. When we no longer require your information,
we’ll ensure that your information is destroyed
or de-identified.
How we use your personal information
What are the main reasons we collect, hold and use your
information?
Collecting your personal information allows us to provide
you with the products and services you’ve asked
for. This means we can use your information to:
• give you credit assistance;
• give you information about loan products or
related services including help, guidance and advice;
• consider whether you are eligible for a loan
or lease or any related service you requested including
identifying or verifying you or your authority to act
on behalf of a customer;
• assist you to prepare an application for a lease
or a loan;
• administer services we provide, for example,
to answer requests or deal with complaints; and
• administer payments we receive, or any payments
we make, relating to your loan or lease.
Can we use your information for marketing our products
and services?
We may use or disclose your personal information to
let you know about other products or services we or
a third party make available and that may be of interest
to you.
We will always let you know that you can opt out from
receiving marketing offers.
With your consent, we may disclose your personal information
to third parties for the purpose of connecting you with
other businesses or customers. You can ask us not to
do this at any time. We won’t sell your personal
information to any organisation.
Yes, You Can Opt-Out
You can let us know at any time if you no longer wish
to receive direct marketing offers from us. We will
process your request as soon as practicable.
What are the other ways we use your information?
We’ve just told you some of the main reasons why
we collect your information, so here’s some more
insight into the ways we use your personal information
including:
• telling you about other products or services
we make available and that may be of interest to you,
unless you tell us not to;
• identifying opportunities to improve our service
to you and improving our service to you;
• allowing us to run our business efficiently
and perform general administrative tasks;
• preventing any fraud or crime or any suspected
fraud or crime;
• as required by law, regulation or codes binding
us; and
• any purpose to which you have consented.
What are the grounds which we will deal with your personal
information under the GDPR?
Under the GDPR, we must have a legal ground in order
to process your personal information. The legal grounds
that we may rely on are:
• Performance of our contract with you;
• Compliance with a legal obligation;
• Where you have provided your consent; and
• For our legitimate interests: our main legitimate
interests for processing your personal information are:
fraud, security, due diligence, business operations
and direct marketing.
How long do you keep your information?
We are required to keep some of your information for
certain periods of time under law, such as the Corporations
Act, the Anti-Money Laundering & Counter-Terrorism
Financing Act, and the Financial Transaction Reports
Act for example.
We are required to keep your information for 7 years
from the closure of accounts, or otherwise as required
for our business operations or by applicable laws.
We may need to retain certain personal information
after we cease providing you with products or services
to enforce our terms, for fraud prevention, to identify,
issue or resolve legal claims and/or for proper record
keeping.
Who do we share your personal information with?
To make sure we can meet your specific needs and for
the purposes described in ‘How we use your personal
information’, we sometimes need to share your
personal information with others. We may share your
information with other organisations for any purposes
for which we use your information.
Sharing Your Information
We may use and share your information with other organisations
for any purpose described above.
Sharing with your representatives and referees
We may share your information with:
• your representative or any person acting on
your behalf (for example, lawyers, settlement agents,
accountants or real estate agents); and
• your referees, like your employer, to confirm
details about you.
Sharing with third parties
We may share your information with third parties in
relation to services we provide to you. Those third
parties may include:
• the mortgage aggregator through whom we may
submit loan or lease applications to lenders or lessors
on the mortgage aggregator’s panel;
• the Australian Credit Licence holder that authorises
us to engage in credit activities;
• referrers that referred your business to us;
• valuers;
• lenders, lessors, lender’s mortgage insurers
and other loan or lease intermediaries;
• organisations, like fraud reporting agencies,
that may identify, investigate and/or prevent fraud,
suspected fraud, crimes, suspected crimes, or other
misconduct;
• government or regulatory bodies (including ASIC
and the Australian Taxation Office) as required or authorised
by law. In some instances, these bodies may share the
information with relevant foreign authorities;
• guarantors and prospective guarantors of your
loan or lease;
• service providers, agents, contractors and advisers
that assist us to conduct our business for purposes
including, without limitation, storing or analysing
information;
• any organisation that wishes to take an interest
in our business or assets; and
• any third party to which you consent to us sharing
your information.
Sharing outside of Australia
We may use overseas organisations to help conduct our
business. As a result, we may need to share some of
your information (including credit information) with
such organisations outside Australia. The countries
in which those organisations are located are:
N/A
We may store your information in cloud or other types
of networked or electronic storage. As electronic or
networked storage can be accessed from various countries
via an internet connection, it’s not always practicable
to know in which country your information may be held.
If your information is stored in this way, disclosures
may occur in countries other than those listed.
Overseas organisations may be required to disclose
information we share with them under a foreign law.
In those instances, we will not be responsible for that
disclosure.
Where we transfer your information from the EEA’
to a recipient outside the EEA we will ensure that an
adequate level of protection is in place to protect
your personal information such as putting in place contractual
protections to ensure the security of your information.
How do you access your personal information?
How you can generally access your information
We‘ll always give you access to your personal
information unless there are certain legal reasons why
we can’t. You can ask us in writing to access
your personal information that we hold. In some cases
we may be able to deal with your request over the phone.
We will give you access to your information in the
form you want it where it’s reasonable and practical.
We may charge you a small fee to cover our costs when
giving you access, but we’ll always check with
you first.
We’re not always required to give you access
to your personal information. Some of the situations
where we don’t have to give you access include
when:
• we believe there is a threat to life or public
safety;
• there is an unreasonable impact on other individuals;
• the request is frivolous;
• the information wouldn’t be ordinarily
accessible because of legal proceedings;
• it would prejudice negotiations with you;
• it would be unlawful;
• it would jeopardise taking action against serious
misconduct by you;
• it would be likely to harm the activities of
an enforcement body (e.g. the police); or
• it would harm the confidentiality of our commercial
information.
If we can’t provide your information in the way
you’ve requested, we will tell you why in writing.
If you have concerns, you can complain. See ‘Contact
Us’.
How do you correct your personal information?
How we correct your information
Contact us if you think there is something wrong with
the information we hold about you and we’ll try
to correct it if it’s:
• inaccurate;
• out of date;
• incomplete;
• irrelevant; or
• misleading.
If you are worried that we have given incorrect information
to others, you can ask us to tell them about the correction.
We’ll try and help where we can - if we can’t,
then we’ll let you know in writing.
What additional things do we have to do to correct
your credit information?
If you ask us to correct credit information, we will
help you with this in the following way.
Helping you manage corrections
Whether we made the mistake or someone else made it,
we are required to help you ask for the information
to be corrected. So we can do this, we might need to
talk to others. However, the most efficient way for
you to make a correction request is to send it to the
organisation which made the mistake.
Where we correct information
If we’re able to correct the information, we’ll
let you know within five business days of deciding to
do this. We’ll also let the relevant third parties
know as well as any others you tell us about. If there
are any instances where we can’t do this, then
we’ll let you know in writing.
Where we can’t correct information
If we’re unable to correct your information, we’ll
explain why in writing within five business days of
making this decision. If you have any concerns, you
can access our external dispute resolution scheme or
make a complaint to the Office of the Australian Information
Commissioner.
Time frame for correcting information
If we agree to correct your information, we’ll
do so within 30 days from when you asked us, or a longer
period that’s been agreed by you.
If we can’t make corrections within a 30 day
time frame or the agreed time frame, we must:
• let you know about the delay, the reasons for
it and when we expect to resolve the matter;
• ask you to agree in writing to give us more
time; and
• let you know you can complain to our external
dispute resolution scheme or the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner.
How do you make a complaint?
How do you generally make a complaint?
If you have a complaint about how we handle your personal
information, we want to hear from you. You are always
welcome to contact us.
You can contact us by using the details below
Ph: (03) 9888 9292
Email: complaints@rapidloan.com.au
We are committed to resolving your complaint and doing
the right thing by our customers. Most complaints are
resolved quickly, and you should hear from us within
five business days.
Need more help?
If you still feel your issue hasn't been resolved to
your satisfaction, then you can raise your concern with
the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner:
• Online: www.oaic.gov.au/privacy
• Phone: 1300 363 992
• Email: enquiries@oaic.gov.au
• Fax: +61 2 9284 9666
• Mail: GPO Box 5218 Sydney NSW 2001 or GPO Box
2999 Canberra ACT 2601
If you are located in the EEA, you can contact the
relevant data protection authority (for example in the
place you reside or where you believe we breached your
rights). For example, the Office of the UK Information
Commissioner:
Office of the UK Information Commissioner
• Online: www.ico.gov.uk
• Phone: 0303 123 1113
• Live chat: https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/live-chat
What additional things do we have to do to manage your
complaints about credit information?
If your complaint relates to how we handled your access
and correction requests
You may take your complaint directly to our external
dispute resolution scheme or the Office of the Australian
Information Commissioner. You are not required to let
us try to fix it first.
For all other complaints relating to credit information
If you make a complaint about things (other than an
access request or correction request) in relation to
your credit information, we will let you know how we
will deal with it within seven days.
Ask for more time if we can’t fix things in 30
days
If we can’t fix things within 30 days, we’ll
let you know why and how long we think it will take.
We will also ask you for an extension of time to fix
the matter. If you have any concerns, you may complain
to our external dispute resolution scheme or the Office
of the Australian Information Commissioner.
Letting you know about our decision
We’ll let you know about our decision within 30
days or any longer agreed time frame. If you have any
concerns, you may complain to our external dispute resolution
scheme or the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
Your Rights under GDPR
If you reside in the EEA, you can also:
• object to the processing or your personal information
or ask us to delete, or restrict or stop using your
personal information. There may be circumstances where
we are required to, or entitled to retain or continue
using your information.
• withdraw your consent to our processing of your
information. We may continue to process our information
if we have another legitimate ground to do so.
• ask us to send an electronic copy of your personal
information, including to another organisation.
You can contact us if you wish to exercise these rights.
See ‘Contact Us’ for more information If
we refuse any request you make in relation to these
rights, we will write to you to explain why and how
you can make a complaint about our decision.
Contact Us
We care about your privacy. Please contact us if you
have any questions or comments about our privacy policies
and procedures. We welcome your feedback.
You can contact us by using the details below:
Ph: (03) 9888 9292
Email: info@rapidloan.com.au
What if you want to interact with us anonymously or
use a pseudonym?
If you have general enquiry type questions, you can
choose to do this anonymously or use a pseudonym. We
might not always be able to interact with you this way,
however, as we are often governed by regulations that
require us to know who we’re dealing with. In
general, we won’t be able to deal with you anonymously
or where you are using a pseudonym when:
• it is impracticable; or
• we are required or authorised by law or a court/tribunal
order to deal with you personally.
What do we do with government-related identifiers?
In certain circumstances we may be required to collect
government-related identifiers such as your tax file
number. We will not use or disclose this information
unless we are authorised by law.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
This Policy may change. We will let you know of any
changes to this Policy by posting a notification on
our website.
|